Pollen Relief

Four Easy Ways to Control Your Pollen Allergy

Pollen allergies, or hay fever, result from breathing in the pollens of weeds, trees, and grasses. Pollen allergies tend to be seasonal, fluctuating with the counts of pollens according to nature's natural cycles. Because pollens originate in plants, most people find that their allergies are particularly bothersome when they are outdoors. While it is difficult to avoid pollens when outdoors, it is quite possible to keep homes essentially pollen-free, giving allergy sufferers a safe haven during allergy season.

In fact, many people find that they can reduce or even eliminate their reliance on medication by taking the following steps keep pollen out of their homes. A few surprisingly simple steps can really help you lead a healthier, more symptom-free life. The steps are listed below in approximate order of importance.

Use a HEPA air purifier to capture the pollens in your home. HEPA air purifiers do an excellent job of capturing the pollens in your home and office. They will capture over 99.9% of the pollens that pass through them. Since they typically clean the air in a room 4-10 times per hour, you can be confident that they will keep the air in the room virtually pollen-free. It is not necessary to put an air cleaner in every room. Putting an air cleaner in your bedroom, family room, and office will allow most people to be in a pollen-free room the vast majority of the time they spend indoors.

Install a quality disposable filter in your central air system. To keep pollens out of the rooms which do not have an air purifier, it helps to use a quality disposable filter in the central air system. Airborne pollens will eventually circulate through the central air system and can be captured using a highly efficient disposable filter. Because all central air systems require a disposable filter, it makes sense to choose one that is effective at capturing pollens and other allergens.

Use a filter on your window screens and window air conditioner. Pollen often enters the home through open windows. While the best method of keeping pollen out is keeping the window shut, there are effective filters that capture pollens so they will not enter through an open window. Also, people who use a window air conditioner should use a filter specially designed to prevent the air conditioner from sucking the pollens into the home.

Wear a face mask when outdoors. When you must be outside for an extended period during the season when pollen counts are high, or if you must be in an area of very high pollen levels, you can wear a mask that will keep you from breathing in pollens. A variety of masks are available, from simple lightweight masks to masks with HEPA filters.